The Holy Ghost and Snowmobiling

When I was about 14 my family took a vacation to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was sort of a tradition to go skiing there a few days after Christmas and to spend some time with some of our family living nearby in Pocatello, Idaho. This year was just a little different though, because this year we were taking a day off from our skiing adventures to try our hand at snowmobiling.
I had a little bit of excitement at the thought of it-I had never been before and I was anxious to try it out. Plus, we weren't just going anywhere, we were headed for some hot springs. We got to the rental place and they suited us up in gear; sleek black snowsuits and black visor-ed helmets. I remember feeling a little bit like Speed Racer in the get up and I was excited to drive, but my parents wisely suggested I ride behind my older brother for the first half of the trip first to get the hang of it. Impatient but obedient, I hopped on the back of my brother's snowmobile.
After a hour or so we stopped to break and play in the snow. I was begging to drive the entire time, so eventually, my brother gave in and handed the keys over. I was shaking I was so excited. I hopped on, fired her up and waited for my brother to get on back. Soon we were on our way.

Besides Mario Kart this was my first time really ever driving a vehicle. What my brother and I soon found out is that I did not have an aptitude at driving. I tend to speed up rapidly, panic, brake, get far behind, panic, speed up too fast again, and then continue on the vicious cycle. This horrible pattern was soon intensified by the fact that we began traveling on a road next to a little ravine. Scared at how close the edge looked I began veering very much to the right side of the road into the hill on that side. The snowmobile would ride up the hill a bit until I panicked once again and turned sharply to the left to get off, only to feel to close to the ravine again. My poor brother was at his wits end by the time we got to this nice open field. I could practically hear his sigh of relief. It was only just a little louder than my own. Unfortunately the big open field was a little less open than I thought. To me the whole area looked like a big huge space of white. It wasn't snowing and the sun wasn't that bright yet I swear I was somehow experiencing a white out. I just kept driving along, faster and faster, trying desperately to catch up to the rest of the gang. I could hear my brother shouting something at me the whole time and I felt his arm pointing to something, but I was too discombobulated to really pay attention. Suddenly I experienced this horrible feeling of having no ground underneath me and then; wham! I was head first in the snow. I slowly got up, wondering what had happened. I saw my brother a few feet behind me, the snowmobile halfway in the snow, and saw above us all a little ravine I had somehow driven us off of into the snow below. Needless to say I was embarrassed, confused, and scared.
Luckily there was no damage, someone drove the snowmobile back up the bank, and I was rightfully banished to ride behind someone again. I later found out that what my brother had been doing behind me was pointing to the road and yelling "road, road, Road, ROAD!" to no avail. I had been too preoccupied and confused to listen-hence we ended up flying off of a ridge.

In our own lives we have similar experiences. We are all on our journey in life, excited to "drive the vehicle" and take ourselves where we want to go. Though we ourselves may be inexperienced, we have the right to receive constant guidance from someone who knows perfectly the path laid before us; the Holy Ghost. He can help us understand not only where to go, but how to get there. Often in life we become too overwhelmed, stressed out, and frustrated to listen to his gentle promptings. Then, if we are really getting ourselves into trouble, he begins to shout, point, and make a ruckus in general to save us from spiritually wrecking. Even then, if we have allowed our minds to be clouded by disobedience, worldly influence, or just plain old distractions of the world and stress of day to day life, we still might not hear or understand his council. At that point, we are sure to wreck. I am eternally grateful that even when we wreck we have access to the Atonement that will restore our lives and put us back on the path, this time with a little more help, until we are ready to drive again toward our spiritual destinations.